


Big and bright and blue

by VictorineMarguerite



Category: Oban Star-Racers
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22778332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictorineMarguerite/pseuds/VictorineMarguerite
Summary: When Eva received the official invitation, it was weeks after hearing about it in the news. The prince of Nourasia was finally getting married. Half of the galaxy was invited, including Earth superstar pilot Eva Wei, her father and her former Oban teammates.Of course she would go, she thought, holding the piece of paper, painted in red and gold, her hand shaking just a tiny bit. She would go, not because she was a celebrity on Earth, but because Aikka was her friend, despite the distance and other things she didn’t really want to think about right now. It would be fine. She would have a good time.
Relationships: Aikka/Eva "Molly" Wei, Eva "Molly" Wei & Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Big and bright and blue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's me! Yet again writing a fanfic for the tiniest fandom in the world!
> 
> So I had this idea of Eva being invited to Aikka's wedding, and things being awkward, but I never thought it would turn out so ... angsty. Oh well. There's also an OC! Because I felt like it!
> 
> Just fyi, there are mentions of sex (hence the T rating) but nothing too graphic. The scenes end before the dirty, basically. 
> 
> The story takes place around ten years after the Oban race. So Aikka and Eva are young adults. 
> 
> English isn't my first language, sorry if you find any mistakes! I tried my best. Enjoy!

When Eva received the official invitation, it was weeks after hearing about it in the news. The prince of Nourasia was finally getting married. Half of the galaxy was invited, including Earth superstar pilot Eva Wei, her father and her former Oban teammates.

Of course she would go, she thought, holding the piece of paper, painted red and gold, her hand shaking just a tiny bit. She would go, not because she was a celebrity on Earth, but because Aikka was her friend, despite the distance and other things she didn’t really want to think about right now. It would be fine. She would have a good time.

___

Or maybe not, Eva realized as soon as she set foot on Nourasia.

She had insisted on taking the same spaceship than everybody else from the Earth government. She could have gone on her own or with her dad. Since the Oban infos had been declassified, she had a special status, one that made strangers look at her when she walked in the street, or her star-racers teammates get very quiet when she would enter a room unexpectedly. Eva hated all of it. She struggled to make friends, to find someone to be intimate with, even to have acquaintances. She was only allowed to be a hero. 

Heroes were lonely. They rode on their own. So Eva had insisted on taking the same damn ship as everybody else.

She almost regretted it when she took the airstairs down, and was immediately greeted by camera flashes before she could even get to the ground.

“MISS WEI! MISS WEI! LOOK OVER HERE!”  
“EVA TELL US SOMETHING!”  
“ARE YOU HERE FOR THE WEDDING?”

(This one almost made Eva laugh. Why else would she be in Nourasia? So she could learn how to ride a beetle?)

She closed her eyes, opened them again. Behind her, she could feel other people waiting in line, tired after such a long ride, still polite, but probably also a bit annoyed. This wouldn’t have happened if Eva had taken her own ship. 

Eva forced herself to smile. She even managed to wave, once, holding her head and her right hand high. 

“Hi! You guys got there early! It’s always so nice to see you!”

(It was always terrible to have paparazzis follow her around, actually, but Eva had learned pretty quickly that getting angry at them only made them more powerful)

Eva started to walk again, careful not to trip on the stairs. She had fallen down in front of paparazzis, once. For weeks, the media had wondered if she had an alcohol issue. She didn’t. Though, granted, she had many other issues.

At least they’re being nice this time, Eva thought. Paparazzis sometimes loved to shout terrible things at her face, just to get a reaction. Calling her "Molly", talking about her dead mom or her negligent dad.

“HEY EVA! ARE YOU HERE TO STOP THE WEDDING?”

Eva heard someone curse loudly behind her shoulder. Probably Don. She had lost him in the queue when they had left the ship, but he always tried his best to be with her when paparazzis were around. He had probably run outside as soon as he had heard the sound of camera shutters. 

He would make them disappear quickly, threatening them with expensive lawsuits, and probably with a bit of violence, if Rick was with him. That's what they always did. Not that Eva usually felt much better afterwards. But it was nice to know she could rely on them. She was grateful for her dad, for Rick, for Koji and for Stan. They were the only ones she could tell everything. Almost.

Eva looked at the sky, hoping to calm herself. It was big and bright and blue. She already knew what was coming next.

“EVA!”, shouted one of the photographers. She didn’t move. 

“EVA”, he said again, louder. “IS IT TRUE THAT YOU FUCKED THE PRINCE OF NOURASIA?”

___

It wasn’t actually true. Not exactly.

What happened is that, a year ago, Aikka had decided to come visit Eva out of the blue. 

Usually, when Eva saw Aikka, it was for an official reason. She was an Earth hero or whatever, and he was the Prince of Nourasia, always would be, until he would be king or dead. 

Aikka couldn’t exactly do friendships. Sure, since Oban, they had managed to keep in touch, by exchanging emails and sometimes speaking on a visiophone. Eva was aware her government listened closely to those calls. She also knew Canaan was usually in the same room as Aikka when he chatted with her. It was a matter of security, and politics. Earth and Nourasia had a complicated relationship, even if the war was over and the Crogs had backed off. Aikka and Eva’s friendship was a diplomatic liability for both planets.

But that night, Aikka had knocked on her flat’s door, and he had been right there, not just a face on a visiophone, or a prince surrounded by other politicians, he had been there and he had been on his own and also he had been very drunk. 

At first, Eva didn't know what to say. She had let Aikka in, had offered him a cup of water. She had waited, silent, the most quiet she had ever been since her dad had left her at her boarding school. It had been too much, too suddenly, Aikka sitting in her shitty couch, so close to her, more than ten years after the great race of Oban. Being able to touch him again, to smell him. Eva had felt like a creep, being so charmed by his scent, the warmth of his hand on her back, when he had hugged her hello. Realizing he was both familiar and so new, with his longer hair and legs, not a skinny boy anymore, a slender man with a tight body.

She was 27 and clearly not over her teenage crush. Or anything Oban related, to be honest. Just ask her psychiatrist.

Aikka had explained himself. He had been on a secret diplomatic mission on Earth. He had been bored to death, sick of the decorum, of Canaan’s surveillance, of the fact they hadn’t allowed him to tell Eva he was on Earth. So after one whole bottle of champagne in the privacy of his hotel room (how fancy and cliché of him, Eva had thought), he had decided to go out and find her.

“I’m sorry we haven’t seen each other that much for ten years. I’ve never stopped thinking about you, about the race, what we’ve been through”, he had said. 

“I think about Jordan” 

(Eva had shuddered at that)

“I wish it would have gone differently, and I also don’t, because I’m glad my planet could be saved and that I can still be their prince, but also I hate it. I hate being a prince and I know I’m drunk and I’m being incredibly rude, and I miss you Eva, I really do.”

Eva had let him vent. Then she had gone up, checking that her blinds were closed, that her door was locked.

If her life was going to become a telenovela, she might as well enjoy it, she had thought. 

About twenty minutes after Aikka had knocked on her door, she had been sitting on his lap, kissing him hard, watching the prince of Nourasia squirm and blush because of her boldness. She had felt him get hard against her skin. She had touched him under his clothes, he had touched her over hers. They had made out like teenagers, like they should have maybe done on Oban, when they were younger and more free. 

So no, actually, they hadn’t fucked. 

But they had both cried, afterwards. They had talked about what they had missed in each others life in the last ten years. How Eva had become a famous pilot, not exactly willingly, even if she was happy she could fly star-racers every day. How Aikka’s dad was getting old, and that he was getting trained to be Nourasia’s next king. The pressure of it all.

Aikka had left in the middle of the night, so that Canaan wouldn’t realize his departure. They hadn’t noticed the camera hidden in the bush in front of Eva’s apartment complex.

___

“I’m very glad you could make it to Nourasia, Miss Wei”, said Canaan, who didn’t look glad at all.

Eva smiled and bowed, just like the Earth ambassador in Nourasia had taught her the night before. Canaan didn’t seem that impressed. He still let her in. 

Eva wasn’t exactly sure where she was. Was this Canaan’s home? His office? A secret room? The castle of Döl, Nourasia’s capital city, was huge, unlike any building Eva had ever been in before. Some rooms were bigger than an airport. Others were tinier than Eva’s old bedroom, back at the boarding school, but somehow very bright, their walls made of glass, filled with plants that bathed in the ever-glowing nourasian sun. It was disconcerting. 

The fact that everybody in the castle seemed angry at her didn’t help Eva’s uneasiness. 

She had hoped that Earth gossips hadn’t travelled all the way to Nourasia. She was, of course, very wrong. Her dad could get angry at paparazzis. But he could do nothing against the stares. The snickers. The whispers in a language they didn’t understand, even when spoken aloud.

The boys had been really nice about it. Rick had offered to start a fight with some random Nourasians. He was pretty sure he could teach them one lesson or two, magical powers or not. Eva, who wasn’t so sure, politely declined. At the welcome dinner, Stan and Koji had made a point in kissing each other whenever they could, shocking every Nourasian nobles around, and also allowing Eva to enjoy her food at least for a few hours.

Of course, she hadn’t been able to see Aikka at all. He hadn’t even been at the dinner. Apparently, in Nourasia, it was customary for the bride and the groom to hide from society before their wedding. 

So when a girl had come to fetch Eva the morning after, telling her Canaan, Aikka’s fencing master, wanted to speak with her, she had been both terrified and glad. She had agreed to go. Whether good or bad, she needed a distraction. 

“Please sit”, said Canaan. Eva was already sitting down. She wondered if she should say sorry. She was tired of being impolite without meaning to be. 

However, Canaan said nothing. He sat down in front of her. The girl that had brought Eva took a seat in a corner, far away from them, but still in the room. She was dressed like a Nourasian soldier, Eva realized. Aikka had told her about one of his bodyguards, once. A young woman about their age, who had hidden to everyone she was a female, until it was too late. She was too powerful, too well trained to be wasted. Aikka had insisted on hiring her for his personal guard. He had told Eva the soldier reminded him of her.

Canaan poured Eva some tea. It smelled really nice. Since she was in Nourasia, Eva had a bad taste lingering at the back of her tongue, a mix of blood and fear. 

“You’re probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you, miss Wei”, said Canaan.

Eva decided to be honest.

“Not really. I guess you want to ask me if I’m planning on ruining Aikka’s wedding?”

Eva had expected Canaan to be shocked, maybe to shout at her. He did neither of those things. He didn't even stop drinking his tea, slowly, enjoying his drink. Eva sighed.

“If that’s the case, don’t worry. I don’t want to. I’m only here because I was invited.”

“I know. And that's Aikka’s fault, not yours.” 

Eva didn’t know what to answer. Was Canaan insulting her or comforting her?

“Sir, if you’re talking about the pictures, let me assure you that nothing happened between Aikka and I…”

Canaan shook his head. He didn’t look that much older than what Eva remembered. Or maybe he had already looked old on Oban. 

“Miss Wei -”  
“Can you call me Eva?”

“Miss Wei”, he repeated. “You must realize that even if it’s true, even if neither you or the Prince have done something wrong, it doesn’t matter at all. The fact is that someone took a photograph of Aikka leaving your home. That alone is proof that you spent time alone.”

Eva suddenly felt the need to act like a dumbass. 

“What, is it illegal for friends to spend time together?”

“Please don’t act like you were stupid, Miss Wei. I know you’re far from it.” 

Eva threw her arms in the air. “But what exactly do you want me to tell you? We did spend time alone. We also didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve told this, over and over, to reporters, to your people, even to the freakin Earth government! I can’t help that Aikka wanted to see me, and that one picture, just one, shows him walking in my street. Alone. Jesus, why is everyone acting like we have made a fucking sextape?” 

Canaan sighed. Behind him, the woman soldier was looking at Eva. She hadn’t moved one bit since they had started the conversation.

“Miss Wei, Aikka has duties. And of his duties is to have an impeccable reputation. People need to trust him, always. I understand this is not relevant to you, as a person, because you’re not a princess, or of a noble rank. It is a very particular burden. The fact is that Aikka has involved you in this burden. If you ask me, it was very reckless of him, and also very selfish. He must have known it would hurt you, in some ways. You deserve better than to be thrown in the mud like this, for a relationship that brings you so little.” 

Eva’s anger died down immediately. She hadn’t expected Canaan to care how she felt. Nobody really had, outside of her family and close friends. 

She was feeling sad now. She had hoped for a fight, a reason to be stupid, something to make her want to be here, after all. 

“You’re only saying this because you never liked me”, Eva said, stubborn, but already feeling defeated. “Even in Oban, you thought that I was a dumb girl that was after Aikka.” 

At that, Canaan smiled. “Aikka told me the same thing. And I'll tell you what I told him: I think you’re smart. Brilliant, even. I’m angry at Aikka, not you. But he is my prince, and I dedicated my life to serve my king and my planet. I will always be on the side of Nourasia.”

He paused. Eva realised she was on the verge of tears. She wondered if crying was against protocol. Would Canaan be horrified if she snotted all over his tea cup?

“I do think coming here was a mistake”, he added, his voice low, almost nice. “Nourasian nobles can be… brutal. Aikka is more used to their violence than you are. He has more privileges than you. Than anyone. Even if he's able to feel pain, sadness, the fact is that he is protected from most bad things in this world. He tends to forget that. I’m not afraid you will do something stupid. I’m afraid he will.” 

Then, something incredible happened. Canaan bowed in front of Eva. Behind him, the young woman did the same, her forehead nearly touching the ground.

“All I’m asking for you, Eva, is to not let him be stupid. And to know that I am deeply sorry for all this.”

___

The night after her talk with Canaan was also the night before the wedding. Eva couldn’t sleep. At some point, she thought she could hear faint knocking on her door. She wasn’t sure. She decided she wouldn’t check if, indeed, someone was trying to see her so late, when everyone was asleep, when nobody could see her and her mysterious visitor. 

Eva thought about the beautiful sky of Nourasia, big and bright and blue, hoping it would show up quickly, helping her out of her misery. 

The knocking stopped after a while. 

___

The morning of the wedding, Eva decided that at least, she would look pretty as hell. That, she could control. 

She didn’t care that much about dresses, usually, but she had bought a very nice one, with Rick and Koji’s help (her dad and Stan, however, were even more clueless than her about those things). 

It was a pretty conservative dress (it was a Nourasian wedding after all) that hid her arms and anything above her knees, but that was still nicely fitted at the waist. What Eva liked the most about her dress was the color: it was very red. It would attract attention, for sure, especially Nourasians, who mostly wore white and muted colors. Eva didn’t care. She wouldn’t try to blend in, to hide. She wouldn’t be slut-shamed. She would be hot and happy and she wouldn’t be sorry about it.

She didn’t put too much make-up on, except for a matching red lipstick and some face powder. She guessed the paparazzis would be on her ass all day. She might as well not look shiny in their pictures. She barely brushed her hair. She had opted for a shorter cut, after Oban, so that she didn’t have to take care of them too much. 

Eva hesitated on wearing her big ugly boots to finish her look. But then she thought about her dad, how he would roll his eyes and call her a brat, and opted for the only pair of heels she had ever owned. She didn’t need flat shoes to be in combat mode anyway.

___

The ceremony was actually lovely. Eva couldn't see most of it, being seated at the very back of the temple, behind the royal family, the Nourasian nobles, and the politicians from all over the galaxy. But she didn't mind. She managed to get a glimpse of Aikka when he walked to the altar, surrounded by young soldiers, including the young woman that Eva had met the day before.

Aikka looked very serious, all dressed in white, his hair braided with gold strings, a single red dot painted on his naked forehead. He didn't look at Eva, of course. He didn't look at anyone. He was just walking forward. Fulfilling his destiny.

Then came Queen Nori and King Lao, looking exactly like Eva remembered them from their first official visit on Earth. Strong and young despite their age, powerful, and, frankly, terrifying. Eva knew they weren't exactly great parents. But they were wonderful leaders, that had fought for their planet's freedom, to fix their elders' mistakes. Rumours had it Nori and Lao had killed Crogs with their bare hands during the war. Aikka had told Eva it was mostly bullshit. She still believed it.

There was silence. Then, every person in the temple suddenly rose at the same time, even though nobody had told them to. Eva followed.

The bride appeared.

Weirdly enough, Eva hadn’t really wondered what she would look like. She had assumed she would be beautiful, already looking like the princess she was about to become by marrying Aikka. She would maybe have a soft look on her face, that indicated that she was a nice woman, that she would never make a fuss, that she was ready to start a family, to be a good mother to her children and her citizens. She would be vulnerable, sweet. Not the kind of woman who sits on her friend's lap to make out just because she feels like it.

Eva was both right and wrong. The bride was indeed beautiful. But she didn’t look soft at all. On the contrary, she exuded strength. She had hard cheekbones, a large forehead, her eyes were deep blue and focused. She was probably as tall as Aikka. Her dress was incredibly complex, made of silk, lace and pearls. It looked very heavy. However, the bride made it look effortless. She moved with ease and confidence. Like she dared anyone to tell her she didn’t deserve to be here, wearing this dress, today.

“I heard from a maid that the bride is older than Aikka, and that it made quite a scandal at court”, Rick whispered. He was sitting next to Eva, looking quite bored, even with his sunglasses hiding his eyes. “Apparently she’s close to 30, and everyone was telling Aikka she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant, that kind of sexist bullshit. But he refused anyone else. He told his dad it would be her, or it would be nobody.” 

Eva said nothing for a while, watching her hands, processing. 

“Good for him”, she finally said.

Rick nodded. “Yeah. Looks like prince charming finally grew some balls.” 

Needless to say, Rick didn’t like Aikka that much. Especially since that whole mess from a year ago. He thought Aikka had acted like a moron, and that Eva shouldn’t have to pay for his mistakes. Stan, Koji and her dad all agreed. Very loudly.

After the ceremony, things got a bit messy, which was pretty normal for a wedding, in Eva’s experience. People roamed around in the royal gardens, fed and showered non-stop with delicious food and drink. Eva stuck to water for a while, so that she could answer questions from journalists as gracefully as possible. Then Stan and Koji kidnapped her and forced a glass of something smelling fancy and strong in her hands.

Nothing bad had happened. The ceremony had gone like it was supposed to. Aikka was now married. Eva would probably not see him today, or until she would leave Nourasia. It was fine. 

Eva could finally relax. 

There was dinner (a sumptuous affair), music (classical, boring), and more drinks. At some point, Eva found herself seated on a stone bench outside with Stan, feeling buzzed and happy. Stan was doing what he always did when he was drunk: gossiping about people in spanish. Eva didn’t really speak the language herself, but she could understand it enough to grunt in approval when needed. 

“I mean COME ON Eva, I just wish Nourasians would loosen it up a little, ya know?”

“Uh-uh”

“This wedding is BO-RING. I mean, the food is great, the alcohol is amazing, I really hope i can find more of this liquor back on Earth by the way, I’ll need to ask Miguel, but come on, the music? I almost fell asleep. I wanted to daaaaaaance Eva”

“I know Stan”, said Eva, in french. 

“And all of those Nourasians, they are gorgeous. Like, seriously. If it wasn’t for Koji, and you KNOW i love my husband, but if he wasn’t there, I would so dance with one of those cute soldiers. They are all so handsome, with their tiny ass and their long ears, UGH”

Eva heard footsteps on her right. It took some effort to raise her head. She saw four Nourasians coming their way. One of them was Aikka’s female bodyguard. She didn’t seem on duty anymore. She was chatting with the three men, one glass in her hand, half-full.

“Shit”, said Eva, feeling suddenly anxious, but not knowing exactly why.

Stan looked up and saw the Nourasians.

“AH! Well that’s what I’m talking about. Look at those four Eva! Aren’t they all insanely hot?” 

“Stan, not so loud”

“Psht, like Nourasians could understand spanish.”

“Stan-”

“Good evening.” 

Eva nearly jumped out of the bench. Stan laughed at that, loudly. She couldn’t wait to snitch him to Koji. He hated when Stan got shitfaced like that.

“Hi”, Eva finally answered. The young female soldier was smiling at her. 

“Are you having a good time?” She didn’t let Eva answer. “My name is Zür, by the way. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. This is Yuki, Kura and Nao”, she added, showing the three men behind her with her chin.

“Um, right. I’m Eva. This is, uh, Stan.” Eva put her hand on Stan’s shoulder, both to make him focus, and to steady herself. 

“It’s nice to meet you”, said one of the men. 

“Oh god, they’re even more gorgeous up close", blurted Stan, thankfully still in spanish.

Eva winced. The Nourasians looked at each other, visibly confused. 

“Oh my god Stan, just, shut up, OK?” she whispered as low as possible. 

That’s when Stan decided to switch back to french. 

“Oh FUCK that. Nourasians have bitched about you all week, and I can’t even compliment their ass? Nuh uh, I’ll say what I want about those gossipy fuckers, thank you very much.”

Eva wondered how quickly she could escape this discussion. Maybe by digging a whole in the ground. Or jump out of the balcony, into the pool down below. She could swim. Maybe it was her best shot.

Eva got up. “Sorry about that guys, we’re gonna lea-”

“Don’t be sorry, your friend is right”. Eva looked up. Zür wasn’t smiling anymore. She and her friends looked embarrassed. Suddenly, they looked really young, not soldier-like at all. Eva realized they were probably as drunk as she was. It was the biggest party of the year, maybe of the decade, after all.

“We, uh, we know people haven’t exactly been nice to you. We’re the one who should say sorry.” 

“DAMN RIGHT”, shouted Stan. “Wait, what?”

Zür sighed. “Look, it’s Aikka who fucked up, not you”

Eva felt like she was losing her mind. “Why does everyone keep telling me that?” 

“Because it’s true, probably.” One of the men - Kura? Yuki? - was now speaking. “We’ve told Aikka. He feels really bad about all this. But since he’s Aikka, he doesn’t deal with his emotions like a regular person. He’s been a real pain in the ass lately, with the wedding and everything. Thank god our princess is more mature than he is” 

Another man - Eva was pretty sure this was Nao - muttered something in nourasian that made the others laugh. 

“Uuuuuh sorry to ask but uh, who are you guys?” Stan was holding Eva’s sleeve in his hand, like he was afraid she was going to float away or something. 

Zür was smiling again. “We’re the closest thing Aikka could call “friends”, basically”, she said. 

“We trained together when we were younger. Now we work for him. But we’re still allowed to call him a moron when he acts like one.”

“Well, when nobody’s around, at least”, added Yuki, looking around a bit uneasily.

“But we’re also off-duty tonight, and we were on our way to grab a bit and some ale in the kitchen.” 

Zür stopped then and looked directly in Eva’s eyes. She was probably waiting for her silent approval. Eva only had to shake her head, and they would be gone. 

Instead, she took a better look at Zür. She hadn’t really had a chance to do that when they were with Canaan, Zür acting like a soldier, and Eva like a scared child.

Zür was small for a Nourasian, also a bit more pale, with square shoulders and a toned body. Her hair was done in a french braid, messy after this long day, strings of ginger framing her face. She wasn’t wearing any make-up. In the moonlight, Eva could see she was blushing, just a bit. Her eyes were big and bright and blue. 

Eva blinked. She nodded.

“Do you guys want to join us?” Zür asked, looking quite relieved.

___

In Eva’s experience, another normal thing that happened at weddings was to go back to bed with a total stranger.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” she asked, for the millionth time. 

She felt, more than heard, Zür sighed against her skin. “I could ask you the same thing”, she said, then proceeded to suck and bite Eva’s neck. 

“Alright but.” Eva shuddered, pushed Zür away, just a bit, just so that she could _think_ , just for one second or two. Zür obeyed. She pushed herself up on her elbows and her hands, sat on Eva’s thighs and waited. Eva was lying on her bed, still, but she felt like she was on a rocket ship. About to explode or to fly high in the sky.

“Sorry, just, I thought Nourasia wasn’t cool with, like, homosexuality? Ya know, girls with girls and boys with boys?”

Zür had a weird look on her face, then, and Eva suddenly worried she had offended her, that the rocket ship was going to explode more violently than she had expected. She was about to say that she was sorry, but then got closer again, her lips kissing the corner of her mouth.

Suddenly, Eva could feel Zür's everything. The heat of her body, the flutter of her heart, the tremor of her thighs, her breasts brushing against hers. She realized that if Zür, wouldn’t touch her in the next few minutes, she might actually die. 

“No, my fellow Nourasians aren’t exactly cool with me liking girls”, Zür finally answered. She was more athletic than Eva, and could hold her body an inch from Eva's without too much effort. Which means she could take her sweet time. Her hand brushed Eva’s sides, went up, landed on Eva’s breast, not squeezing, just being there, pure torture. 

“But I am what I am, and I assume that you won’t snitch?”

She squeezed. Eva was so glad that she didn’t have to share her room with Rick or worst, her dad. Nourasians had been very rude to her, but at least they had given her privacy.

“But what about you?”

Eva could do nothing but stutter. “Wh-what about me?” 

Zür kissed her on the cheek this time, more tender than before. Less in a hurry to devour her. 

“Aikka, I mean. Aren’t you deeply in love with him and about to cry in my arms or something?”

Eva breathed in and out. Fair enough, she thought. She owed her the truth. 

“I’m, uh, not in love with Aikka.” 

She took Zür's hand, kissed her knuckles, one by one. Just to be sure she wouldn't run away. Zür said nothing, patient, kind. 

“He means something to me, yeah, I’m not exactly sure what, to be honest. I’ve still got a lot of trauma related to Oban, and so does he, we will always be linked by that. But it’s not like I really know him, you know? Our lives are so different. I don't, uh, dream of becoming the next queen of Nourasia or whatever. That actually sounds awful.”

“But you did kiss him on Earth, didn’t you?”

Eva rolled her eyes. “So he told you that, uh”

“I told you, we are friends. And I don’t mind.”

Eva shrugged. “I did kiss him. But it was mostly to be in control. Since Oban, no, since I was born, I’ve always felt like I had no control over anything. Things just .. happened to me. It felt like that when Aikka showed up at my place, too. So, I don’t know. I wanted to choose to do something. To feel something. But then it made everything worse, and so many things happened, things I couldn’t control again.” 

Eva closed her eyes. She suddenly thought about Jordan. She was thinking a lot about him, these days. It usually happened when she was more depressed than usual. He had never gotten in touch since she had left Oban. She supposed he wasn’t allowed to. She feared he didn’t want to.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol, or the fact that her heart was pounding in her heart, but when Eva spoke again, her voice seemed smaller than usual. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt something.”

Zür didn’t let her say anything else. She kissed Eva, hard, grabbing her by the neck. Eva was happy to kiss back. They did that for a while, going deep and slow. Zür broke the kiss first, and looked at Eva one last time. 

“Tell me to back off and I will. It’s your decision, you can take it anytime.” Eva didn't know Zür, but she trusted that she really meant that. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Alright", Eva answered. "Can I choose that you go down on me?” 

Zür snorted. Then, she did just that.

___

All in all, this whole wedding thing had been nice. The day after the ceremony, Eva had fought her raging hangover to explore the city of Döl. Zür had shown her around, with Rick, Koji and Stan, who couldn’t stop giggling and telling her dirty innuendos in spanish during the day. Thankfully, Don had declined to come with them.

Eva had spent another night with Zür, more quiet than the first one, but just as nice. The morning after, they had said their goodbyes. It hadn’t been as sad as Eva had expected it to be. There were no risks of crazy paparazzis, heart breaks, existential crises. They've just had a good time. Eva was glad she was able to do that. To be a normal human being, hooking up at a wedding. 

When Zür had left, Eva had made her suitcase, and even enjoyed her own private steam bath, something she had discovered much too late while exploring her huge guest room. She had soaked for an hour, looking at the sky by the huge window at the ceiling. For the first time, the sky wasn't blue. It was cloudy, painted grey and white. 

Eva was drying her hair with a towel, thinking of the dreadfully long trip back home, when she realized Zür had left an envelope on the bed.

She took it in his hands, thinking about the last time she had torn an envelope open, when she was first invited to this wedding.

There were two letters. The first one was by Zür.

_"Aikka asked me to give you this. Sorry I couldn't give it to you in person. Please burn it when you've read it._

_You're a lovely woman and I hope you'll feel happier soon. Also, that red dress drove me crazy. Don't ever get rid of it._

_Zür"_

Eva smiled. She took a deep breath, and opened the second letter.

_"Dear Eva,_

_I should start by telling you how sorry I am. My loneliness was my burden to bear, and I made you tumble down with me. I'm afraid the fall was worse for you than it was for me._

_Forgive me for being selfish. Forgive me for inviting you to my wedding, knowing that my own people would probably be terrible with you. I promise Nourasia can also be kind. I believe you've at least seen this side with Zür., People like her are why I still believe I could be a good prince to my people._

_I wish I could have come and see you in person. I wasn't allowed to. But know that my wife, Trina, knows about everything. She thinks I'm a moron, and that you're a strong woman, who knows better than I do. She told me men are raised to take and take and then go away, whatever the consequences. I'm ashamed to admit she's right._

_I think you two would get along well. I hope I can properly introduce you next time we meet._

_Even though I lost my way, and made you suffer for it, I hope you still think of me as a friend. I still think of you everyday. I hope, sometimes, you will think about me too._

_A."_


End file.
